Communicative language teaching

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Main article: Methods of teaching foreign languages
Communicative language teaching (CLT) is an approach to the teaching of second and foreign
languages that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a
language. It is also referred to as communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages
or simply the communicative approach.

Contents
[hide]

1 Relationship with other methods and approaches

o 1.1 The audio-lingual method
o

1.2 The notional-functional syllabus

1.3 Learning by teaching (LdL)

2 Classroom activities used in CLT

3 Critiques of CLT

4 See also

5 References

[edit] Relationship with other methods and approaches

Historically, CLT has been seen as a response to the audio-lingual method (ALM), and as an
extension or development of the notional-functional syllabus. Task-based language learning, a
more recent refinement of CLT, has gained considerably in popularity.

[edit] The audio-lingual method

The audio-lingual method (ALM) arose as a direct result of the need for foreign language
proficiency in listening and speaking skills during and after World War II. It is closely tied to
behaviorism, and thus made drilling, repetition, and habit-formation central elements of
instruction. Proponents of ALM felt that this emphasis on repetition needed a corollary emphasis
on accuracy, claiming that continual repetition of errors would lead to the fixed acquisition of
incorrect structures and non-standard pronunciation.
In the classroom, lessons were often organized by grammatical structure and presented through
short dialogues. Often, students listened repeatedly to recordings of conversations (for example,

in the language lab) and focused on accurately mimicking the pronunciation and grammatical
structures in these dialogs.
Critics of ALM asserted that this over-emphasis on repetition and accuracy ultimately did not
help students achieve communicative competence in the target language. Noam Chomsky argued
"Language is not a habit structure. Ordinary linguistic behaviour characteristically involves
innovation, formation of new sentences and patterns in accordance with rules of great
abstractness and intricacy". They looked for new ways to present and organize language
instruction, and advocated the notional functional syllabus, and eventually CLT as the most
effective way to teach second and foreign languages. However, audio-lingual methodology is
still prevalent in many text books and teaching materials. Moreover, advocates of audio-lingual
methods point to their success in improving aspects of language that are habit driven, most
notably pronunciation.

[edit] The notional-functional syllabus

Main article: Notional-functional syllabus
A notional-functional syllabus is more a way of organizing a language learning curriculum than a
method or an approach to teaching. In a notional-functional syllabus, instruction is organized not
in terms of grammatical structure as had often been done with the ALM, but in terms of
notions and functions. In this model, a notion is a particular context in which people
communicate, and a function is a specific purpose for a speaker in a given context. As an
example, the notion or context shopping requires numerous language functions including
asking about prices or features of a product and bargaining. Similarly, the notion party would
require numerous functions like introductions and greetings and discussing interests and hobbies.
Proponents of the notional-functional syllabus claimed that it addressed the deficiencies they
found in the ALM by helping students develop their ability to effectively communicate in a
variety of real-life contexts.

[edit] Learning by teaching (LdL)

Learning by teaching is a widespread method in Germany (Jean-Pol Martin). The students take
the teacher's role and teach their peers.
CLT is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching, rather than as a teaching method
with a clearly defined set of classroom practices. As such, it is most often defined as a list of
general principles or features. One of the most recognized of these lists is David Nunans (1991)
five features of CLT:
1. An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.
2. The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
3. The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the
Learning Management process.

4. An enhancement of the learners own personal experiences as important contributing

elements to classroom learning.
5. An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the
classroom.
These five features are claimed by practitioners of CLT to show that they are very interested in
the needs and desires of their learners as well as the connection between the language as it is
taught in their class and as it used outside the classroom. Under this broad umbrella definition,
any teaching practice that helps students develop their communicative competence in an
authentic context is deemed an acceptable and beneficial form of instruction. Thus, in the
classroom CLT often takes the form of pair and group work requiring negotiation and
cooperation between learners, fluency-based activities that encourage learners to develop their
confidence, role-plays in which students practice and develop language functions, as well as
judicious use of grammar and pronunciation focused activities.
In the mid 1990s the Dogma 95 manifesto influenced language teaching through the Dogme
language teaching movement, who proposed that published materials can stifle the
communicative approach. As such the aim of the Dogme approach to language teaching is to
focus on real conversations about real subjects so that communication is the engine of learning.
This communication may lead to explanation, but that this in turn will lead to further
communication.[1]

[edit] Classroom activities used in CLT

Example Activities
Role Play
Interviews
Information Gap
Games
Language Exchanges
Surveys
Pair Work
Learning by teaching
However, not all courses that utilize the Communicative Language approach will restrict their
activities solely to these. Some courses will have the students take occasional grammar quizzes,
or prepare at home using non-communicative drills, for instance.

[edit] Critiques of CLT

One of the most famous attacks on communicative language teaching was offered by Michael
Swan in the English Language Teaching Journal in 1985.[2] Henry Widdowson responded in
defense of CLT, also in the ELT Journal (1985 39(3):158-161). More recently other writers (e.g.
Bax[3]) have critiqued CLT for paying insufficient attention to the context in which teaching and
learning take place, though CLT has also been defended against this charge (e.g. Harmer 2003[4]).
Often, the communicative approach is deemed a success if the teacher understands the student.
But, if the teacher is from the same region as the student, the teacher will understand errors
resulting from an influence from their first language. Native speakers of the target language may
still have difficulty understanding them. This observation may call for new thinking on and
adaptation of the communicative approach. The adapted communicative approach should be a
simulation where the teacher pretends to understand only what any regular speaker of the target
language would and reacts accordingly (Hattum 2006[5]).

Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction And

Sample Activities
Ann Galloway, Center for Applied Linguistics
This digest will take a look at the communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages.
It is intended as an introduction to the communicative approach for teachers and teachers-intraining who want to provide opportunities in the classroom for their students to engage in reallife communication in the target language. Questions to be dealt with include what the
communicative approach is, where it came from, and how teachers' and students' roles differ
from the roles they play in other teaching approaches. Examples of exercises that can be used
with a communicative approach are described, and sources of appropriate materials are provided.

Where does communicative language teaching come from?

Its origins are many, insofar as one teaching methodology tends to influence the next. The
communicative approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had
grown dissatisfied with the audiolingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign language
instruction. They felt that students were not learning enough realistic, whole language. They did
not know how to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures, or expressions; in
brief, they were at a loss to communicate in the culture of the language studied. Interest in and
development of communicative-style teaching mushroomed in the 1970s; authentic language use
and classroom exchanges where students engaged in real communication with one another
became quite popular.
In the intervening years, the communicative approach has been adapted to the elementary,
middle, secondary, and post-secondary levels, and the underlying philosophy has spawned

different teaching methods known under a variety of names, including notional-functional,

teaching for proficiency, proficiency-based instruction, and communicative language teaching.

What is communicative language teaching?

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate
communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life.
Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the
communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise,
which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from
day to day. Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful
ways about meaningful topics.
Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in explaining
Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship
with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context,
both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its
social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come
together to speak)" (Berns, 1984, p. 5).

What are some examples of communicative exercises?

In a communicative classroom for beginners, the teacher might begin by passing out cards, each
with a different name printed on it. The teacher then proceeds to model an exchange of
introductions in the target language: "Guten Tag. Wie heissen Sie?" Reply: "Ich heisse Wolfie,"
for example. Using a combination of the target language and gestures, the teacher conveys the
task at hand, and gets the students to introduce themselves and ask their classmates for
information. They are responding in German to a question in German. They do not know the
answers beforehand, as they are each holding cards with their new identities written on them;
hence, there is an authentic exchange of information.
Later during the class, as a reinforcement listening exercise, the students might hear a recorded
exchange between two German freshmen meeting each other for the first time at the Gymnasium
doors. Then the teacher might explain, in English, the differences among German greetings in
various social situations. Finally, the teacher will explain some of the grammar points and
structures used.
The following exercise is taken from a 1987 workshop on communicative foreign language
teaching, given for Delaware language teachers by Karen Willetts and Lynn Thompson of the
Center for Applied Linguistics. The exercise, called "Eavesdropping," is aimed at advanced
students.

Instructions to students: Listen to a conversation somewhere in a public place and be prepared

to answer, in the target language, some general questions about what was said.
1. Who was talking?
2. About how old were they?
3. Where were they when you eavesdropped?
4. What were they talking about?
5. What did they say?
6. Did they become aware that you were listening to them?
The exercise puts students in a real-world listening situation where they must report information
overheard. Most likely they have an opinion of the topic, and a class discussion could follow, in
the target language, about their experiences and viewpoints.
Communicative exercises such as this motivate the students by treating topics of their choice, at
an appropriately challenging level.
Another exercise taken from the same source is for beginning students of Spanish. In "Listening
for the Gist," students are placed in an everyday situation where they must listen to an authentic
text.
Objective: Students listen to a passage to get general understanding of the topic or message.
Directions: Have students listen to the following announcement to decide what the speaker is
promoting.
Passage: Situacion ideal . . . Servicio de transporte al Aeropuerto Internacional . . . Cuarenta y
dos habitaciones de lujo, con aire acondicionado . . . Elegante restaurante . . . de fama
internacional.
(The announcement can be read by the teacher or played on tape.) Then ask students to circle the
letter of the most appropriate answer on their copy, which consists of the following multiplechoice options:
a. a taxi service

b. a hotel

c. an airport

d. a restaurant

(Source: Adapted from Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool, 1980, Item No. 13019)
Gunter Gerngross, an English teacher in Austria, gives an example of how he makes his lessons
more communicative. He cites a widely used textbook that shows English children having a pet
show. "Even when learners act out this scene creatively and enthusiastically, they do not reach
the depth of involvement that is almost tangible when they act out a short text that presents a
family conflict revolving round the question of whether the children should be allowed to have a

pet or not" (Gerngross & Puchta, 1984, p. 92). He continues to say that the communicative
approach "puts great emphasis on listening, which implies an active will to try to understand
others. [This is] one of the hardest tasks to achieve because the children are used to listening to
the teacher but not to their peers. There are no quick, set recipes. That the teacher be a patient
listener is the basic requirement" (p.98).
The observation by Gerngross on the role of the teacher as one of listener rather than speaker
brings up several points to be discussed in the next portion of this digest.

How do the roles of the teacher and student change in communicative language
teaching?
Teachers in communicative classrooms will find themselves talking less and listening
morebecoming active facilitators of their students' learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). The
teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students' performance is the goal, the teacher must
step back and observe, sometimes acting as referee or monitor. A classroom during a
communicative activity is far from quiet, however. The students do most of the speaking, and
frequently the scene of a classroom during a communicative exercise is active, with students
leaving their seats to complete a task. Because of the increased responsibility to participate,
students may find they gain confidence in using the target language in general. Students are more
responsible managers of their own learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986).